My Big White Rooster

So many jokes, so little time.

This thing is HUGE.  It must be at least 8 feet long tall.  This place sells iron stuff.  Some of it antique like the ice cream chairs Grandma, Grandpa and I brought back from our trip to Illinois when I was 13.  The wind whipping through the chairs on the top of the car whistled the whole drive back to Spokane.  I nearly went nuts.  It was a great trip that I still fondly remember.  Anyway, this proprietor sells stuff and Ross and I would like to decorate our back yard with a giant rooster.  It is just so cool.  We walked to the place and took a photo, got coffee and had a nice Saturday morning last week.  Right now we are in New York – fun for us!!

Ross in Black

Ross and I carpool to work in the morning.  Otherwise he drives to work and I take the bus.  I really appreciate the effort he extends in carpooling.  It all started when there is heavy rain predicted.  And then this winter was really REALLY cold quite frequently.  So we continued carpooling.  And now it is nice ouside and we are still carpooling.  I generally take the bus in the afternoons unless we are getting together for something afterwork.  Like a happy hour of my co-workers, class on Tuesdays or some other fun event.

Well, one day after he got his new leather coat (don’t throw red paint) we were driving downtown so he could drop me off and I took this photo.  I think it is great – thanks Ross!

Jewel

Jewel performed five songs at work on Wednesday the 23rd of April.  The day after, she left Minneapolis and performed at an Ann Arbor Borders store wearing the same clothes.  Does she not realize that people will notice?  Someone mentioned these are her performance clothes.  Whatever, she wore the same clothes two days in a row.  Blouses are tiny, throw another in your suitcase.  I’ll stop ranting because the performance was SUPERB.

More than that it was FANTASTIC and she talked about being homeless and having sex with her boss.   Actually she turned him down and that’s how she lost her job and became homeless.  It was funny, but maybe a little inappropriate for an office environment.

She also yodeled and told another story about driving down the road with her boyfriend listening to a comedian who said men only have two feelings – hunger and sex.  Her boyfriend shrugged his shoulders and agreed.  That line about sex and hunger was in one of the songs she sang.

All I can really say is I had an awesome time over lunch listening to Jewel play at work.

Ways to Spend Your $600 Tax Rebate

Green Up Your Home:

• New Energy Efficient Fridge
• New Lights – Compact Florescent

The cost of this is wildly variable depending on your home or apartment, but $600 can go a long way toward saving your energy bill and the earth at the same time. Many homeowners have an old fridge in the garage where old food goes to die, and it’s typically incredibly inefficient. For under $600 you can get a cheap fridge with a good Energy Star rating and save literally hundreds of dollars a year on your electic bill. If you use bottled water, get one of those faucet-attached water filters (Brita, Pur, etc.) and a stockpile of new filters. The quality of water is just as good or better, it’s more convenient than the jug or bottle, and you won’t be wasting all the plastic and fuel used to bottle and ship bottled water.

$600 is enough for almost anyone to replace all the bulbs in their home with compact fluorescents. They cost a lot more up front, but they last a lot longer (5–8 years) and use a third of the electricity to put out the same amount of light. They pay for themselves with a reduced electric bill in usually 3–4 months. You can probably do the water filter, light bulbs, and buy easy window insulation kits for all your windows with just your one measly $600 rebate check. Best of all, you’ll probably save more than $600 on your energy bills over the next year. I guess it takes money to make money.

So go ahead and splurge on yourself in a way that will pay you back, and your neighbor and world.